Eddie was so right to moan about Alun Wyn
Eddie Jones’ mission to provide good copy is relentless, and he starred yet again during the week when he had a pop at Alun Wyn Jones. However, he was absolutely on the money, because the Welsh captain clearly overstepped the mark when he planted his size 12 boot in front of the ball to prevent Finn Russell taking a conversion.
As captain he was entitled to try to speak to the ref, as long as the official wanted to hear from him. What he should not have done was anything to get in the way of him doing his job. He was wrong, and someone needs to have a quiet word in his ear – perhaps the mention of a yellow card would do the trick?
However, kickers trying to take a quick conversion because there’s a doubt about the validity of the try is happening more and more, and players cannot be blamed for trying to exploit a loophole in the laws. The answer is so simple that it beggars belief that the authorities have failed to act.
The introduction of the TMO was a breath of fresh air for rugby, with fewer non-tries being awarded, with more incidences of play being captured, and referees being pilloried on far fewer occasions. The only possible downside is that it adds a few minutes onto the length of the game – an insignificant problem if it leads to the right team winning.
What World Rugby needs to do, is to insist that every possible try is subject to a TMO review. That, at a stroke, stops kickers trying to fiddle the system – they would have to wait until the officials make the decision that a try had been scored.
That would also prevent the unedifying spectacle of players trying to bully the ref into calling for a review, something that is totally against the ethos of the game – with laws as labyrinthine as rugby’s, respect for the referee is essential. If the authorities continue to dither, let the elite refs make the decision for them. If the top refs had a beer together and informally decided to review every possible try, the game would be better for it, although I’m sure Eddie Jones would quickly find another headline-grabbing topic!
Today Scotland take on France at Murrayfield, and already Gregor Townsend must be feeling the heat. As a Scot you get accustomed to false dawns and disappointments, but the performance against Wales was nothing short of a total embarrassment.
Many people wondered about the SRU’s sanity when they unceremonious foul ly dumped one of the world’s best coaches, Vern Cotter, and replaced him with Townsend, an iconic figure in the Scottish game, but unproven at international level. A win against the clearly knackered 14man Wallabies and a decent run-out against the below-par All Blacks, seemed to convince more than a few that he was the new Messiah, but the shambolic performance at the Principality Stadium soon put them right.
There was an arrogance about the Scots’ performance – as if they believed themselves to be so good that they could just chuck the ball around and a win was certain. If ever a game called for Greg Laidlaw’s experience and steadiness, this was is it, but Townsend opted for the much-less-experienced Ali Price, and it backfired in spectacular fashion.
When things went wrong, the Scottish response was to stick to the game plan, such as it was, and hope that it would start to come right – that just made things worse. Home advantage counts for such a lot in the Six Nations that there has to be a measure of pragmatism and control but that seemed to pass Townsend by.
You have to wonder whether Cotter, now at Top 14 table-toppers Montpellier, afforded himself a wry smile as he watched things unravel in Cardiff ?
In the France v Ireland match it was disappointing to hear Nigel Owens consistently speaking in English to the French players. I’m sure that there are enough English speakers in their team for it to just about be OK, but it contrasted starkly with French ref Pascal Gauzere who spoke in English throughout the Wales v Scotland game – it just came over as more respectful.
I also found the BBC coverage as stodgy and old-fashioned as ever. On the other hand, ITV have David Flatman who is a natural. Very sharp, and closer to his playing days than a lot of the other pundits, he is simply very, very funny.